TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Wyatt Sexton's dad -- who is also the assistant head coach and running backs coach at Florida State -- and teammates are focused on the quarterback's health, not his playing status.
"Wyatt is under the care of physicians for a medical problem, and at this time he will remain under their care. His doctors have informed us that drug abuse is not the problem," Billy Sexton said in a statement released Thursday morning.
"At this point, our focus as a family is to ensure that our son, whom we love and support in every regard, gets the care that he needs until he makes a full and complete recovery," continued Billy Sexton, who's in his 28th season at FSU.
"The outpouring of love and support from so many people for Wyatt and our family has been overwhelming and a source of great comfort to all of us. We request, however, that the media understand and respect the privacy that we seek for Wyatt and that he needs at this time."
Wyatt Sexton's Florida State teammates say the quarterback's health should be addressed before his status on the team.
The favorite to start for the Seminoles next season, Sexton was taken to the hospital by police Monday after he was found acting strangely in the middle of a street and telling officers that he was "God."
A police report said Sexton appeared to be "under the influence of some unknown narcotic or alcohol," but that hasn't been confirmed.
The school didn't release any new information Wednesday about Sexton. He had been suspended two weeks earlier for undisclosed reasons, but that information wasn't released publicly until Tuesday.
Assistant athletic director Rob Wilson said he couldn't even disclose whether Sexton continued to be hospitalized.
"His health is the most important thing right now and not this football team," said center David Castillo, who has been the team's informal spokesman. "We just hope that he deals with the issues that he is dealing with and that he can get out and get back here as soon as possible."
Castillo said the only thing he knew about Sexton in recent weeks was that he hadn't been attending voluntary team workouts. However, Castillo said, Sexton was not the only player absent from those workouts.
As far as Castillo knew, team members weren't aware of Sexton's suspension or the reason behind it.
"We just knew that we were out there working hard and Wyatt wasn't out there," Castillo said. "We have various team rules about many different things. That might not even be correlated to what is going on right now, so we don't know anything about that."
Coach Bobby Bowden is on vacation, Wilson said, and he wasn't expected to be back in the office for about three weeks.
Florida State opens its season Sept. 5 against Miami.
Hope this guy get's well.
Advanced beyond all that you can hope to comprehend with 100% of your brain!
"I was on the sideline and guys were talking about the score, and then it hit me -- we won by 21. I came in the locker room and I yelled it out, and immediately I just kind of broke down in tears. Because I miss Sean, you know."
Updated: July 9, 2005, 5:18 PM ET FSU will seek another year of eligibility Associated Press
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Wyatt Sexton, the Florida State quarterback who was found disheveled and disoriented on a city street last month, has been diagnosed with Lyme disease and will miss the upcoming season, the university reported Saturday.
Florida State coach Bobby Bowden said the university would seek a sixth year of eligibility for Sexton, who has already used his redshirt season. He is the Seminoles' only experienced quarterback.
"It looks like Wyatt will need several months of treatment and will have to miss the season," Bowden said in a statement.
A specialist in the field of Lyme disease, Dr. S. Chandra Swami from Hermitage, Pa., said Sexton's organs have been infected and recommended intensive antibiotic therapy over a period of months.
"Wyatt has active Lyme Disease that has resulted in neuropsychiatric and cardiovascular deficits," Dr. Swami said.
The disease is curable, but the estimated recovery time for his advanced stage of infection is several months. If untreated, the disease can cause joint swelling and brain inflammation.
"We expect him to fully recover," Sexton's parents, Billy and Joy, said in a statement in the school's release. Billy Sexton is the running backs coach for the Seminoles.
The Seminoles will now choose between a pair of redshirt freshmen, Drew Weatherford and Xavier Lee, as the starting quarterback for their nationally televised season opener Sept. 5 against Miami. The team begins its preseason practice Aug. 9.
"It may come down to flipping a coin as to who starts the season," Bowden said.
Wyatt Sexton was the projected starter at quarterback. He played in 10 games in 2004, completing 55.2 percent of his passes for 1,661 yards and eight touchdowns. He also had eight interceptions.
On June 14, the 20-year-old Sexton was doused by pepper spray and taken to a hospital after he was found lying in the street and identifying himself as God. His parents released a statement two days later that said drug abuse was not the problem.
Lyme disease bacteria are transmitted to humans by ticks that are carried by deer.
The disease is often identified by an expanding "bull's-eye" rash that develops days to weeks after a tick bite. Other symptoms include tiredness, fever, muscle aches and joint pain.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta said there are an increasing number of cases that are attributed to growing populations of deer that support deer ticks, more homes being built in wooded areas and better recognition and reporting of the disease, named in 1977 when a cluster was identified in Lyme, Conn.
In addition to Sexton, the Seminoles could also be without their two linebackers, Ernie Sims and A.J. Nicholson, for the Miami game because of recent run-ins with the law.
Florida State was 9-3 in 2004, but failed to win the Atlantic Coast Conference title for just the second time in 13 seasons, and wound up ranked 15th -- its fourth straight year outside the Top 10 in the final Associated Press poll.
interesting name...
